Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, has refused to be interviewed by British police after officers declined to reveal the evidence against him. The German national, who was released from prison last September, exercised his constitutional rights under German law to snub a request from Scotland Yard detectives.
The Metropolitan Police had sent an International Letter of Request to German prosecutors asking for Brueckner to be produced for questioning. However, the attempt was rejected by German courts because detectives were unwilling to disclose the case against him. Brueckner's lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, told the Mail on Sunday that he 'was not informed on what specific facts the alleged suspicions were based'.
British officers are understood to be working on building a case strong enough for the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise charges before the 20th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance next year. However, even if charges are brought, it is not possible to extradite German citizens from Germany to the UK.
Brueckner has consistently denied any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance. In a letter published by The Sun, he questioned the lack of forensic evidence, writing: 'Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? ... All no, no, no.'
Circumstantial evidence linking Brueckner to the crime includes his mobile phone being recorded near the McCanns' apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the night Madeleine vanished in May 2007. He also has previous convictions for child abuse and was named to police by a witness who claimed Brueckner said Madeleine 'didn't scream when taken'. However, police have reportedly found no forensic evidence.
Brueckner was serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz in 2005 when he was released last September. Lawyer Bernhard Schmeilzl noted that while the Met could charge Brueckner, they cannot detain him in Germany, but extradition to Portugal as an EU country might be possible.
